Victor McLaglen, who plays The Sergeant, is the brother of Cyril McLaglen, who played The Sergeant in the earlier 1929 version of this film.
According to Karloff biographer Peter Underwood the temperature on the Yuma locations could be as hot as 150 degrees and actors were limited to working two hours a day.
Composer Max Steiner re-used the main title music he wrote for this film for the main title music for Casablanca, albeit with a slightly different tempo and instrumentation.
Director John Ford's older brother Francis appears in an uncredited role.
McLaglen actually served with the Irish Fusiliers in Mesopotamia (Modern Iraq) during World War I at the same time this story takes place. He eventually rose to be Provost Martial of Baghdad.
The release of the almost complete version on DVD allows viewers to compare it with the edited 1949 re-release, occasionally shown on Turner Classic Movies. Eliminated in the shorter version is an early shot of Karloff with a book of poetry about the desert, Hanson's reminiscing about Kerrigan's and Hale's earlier days in the service, and McLaglen and Ford sharing cigarettes and recalling their wives and sweethearts. Apparently, a boxing match between Hale and Stein immediately following the death of Bevan, before they all draw lots, is still missing.